The destruction of a hill in Echo Park would make way for four three-story homes. Both PLUM and City Council approved the project despite failure to meet all CEQA requirements (i.e., a threatened species, the black walnut tree, is on the premises) and objections of some 50 neighbors. Instead, a developer in San Jose, California is being favored.

The land in question has long been known by the community as Kite Hill and has been valued as one of the few remaining undeveloped spaces left in Los Angeles. Red tail hawks frequent the area often, and one neighbor saw the mountain lion P-22 there.

The case is expected to be heard in court in a few months. Meanwhile, the developer could choose to start demolition of the hill at any time depending on how confident he feels of the legal outcome.

It's been a year since women in America enraged by the rhetoric and appalled at the threats of the coming Donald Trump administration gathered by the millions throughout cities and towns across these United States. They exercised their constitutional rights personally in overwhelming numbers at the First Women's March.

So, here we are again on the streets of America one year later, in the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, California for The Second Women's March.

David Braun of Californians Against Fracking and the Rootskeeper said, "I think it's notable that 20 million pounds of hydrochloric acid and 10 million pounds of hydrofluoric acid were used in Los Angeles County in a 3 year period in oil extraction operations."

California is the nation's "green leader" and Governor Jerry Brown is the country's "greenest governor," right?

That is the narrative promulgated by state officials, public relations experts and writers who gush about the Governor's frequent speeches at international climate conferences. The reality on the ground here in California is much, much different.

In fact, California is the third biggest oil producing state in the country and Big Oil is the largest corporate lobby, dominating the Governor's Office, the Legislature and the regulatory agencies.

The Eagle Rock Peace Vigil began in November of 2002. Like the many other weekly vigils that existed all over Southern California (listing of vigils circa '03 included with story), it was against the then-looming invasion of Iraq. In subsequent months and years signs have addressed other issues while still emphasizing war.

The organizers of the event, activists with the Defend Movement, had originally planned their action in response to a plan by the extreme right to hold an "America First" rally in Upland in coordination with the ACT for America nationwide day of action. The "American Congress for Truth" is the nation's largest Islamophobic group. Defend was supported by the faith-based Rise Against the Wall, which roots its anti-Trump activism in Christianity. Both are new groups that formed in the wake of the rise of Trumpism.

When the national organization decided to cancel all public actions for the day and to hold instead an "online day of ACTion," the Upland rally was also canceled. Other factors--namely, the inability of organizers to obtain a permit and the threat of a counter demonstration, liked served as further persuasion.

Despite the cancellation of the ACT rally, the Defend Movement opted to proceed with their rally, which they dubbed "United4Love2," having previously "United for Love" in Yucaipa in response to a similar rally planned by the extreme right there.

Linksunten.indymedia.org, the main independent media website in Germany, was banned by the German government's Ministry of Interior on August 25. Maintaining the website and using its logo are now considered criminal offenses in the country. Linksunten volunteers are also being prosecuted as a "club," which means that administrators are considered responsible for everything that has been published. Administrators are also being accused of being members of a terrorist association. This represents a new step in the repression in Europe. The last time something of this significance occurred was in 1995, when the German central power banned the newspaper "Radikal", which sparked demonstrations all over the country.

The monthly Activist Support Circle in Santa Monica featured as its guest author Pat Thomas, whose book, "Did It! From YIPPIE to YUPPIE: Jerry Rubin, an American Revolutionary," comes out September 5.

Our discussion delved into Rubin's entire life from childhood, to involvement in the Free Speech Movement in Berkeley, to co-founding the yippies, to his involvement with John Lennon, to his relationship with Abbie Hoffman, to his work at a brokerage firm on Wall Street (it's not widely known that he was selling solar technology in the early '80s).

In this bilingual play, recently performed at Debs Park, Alicia travels into the Arroyo Seco's past to help her deal with the present. Representing the past are the spirit of Toypurina (who in the 1780s instigated a revolt against the San Gabriel Mission) who's Alicia's guide (she and Alicia are pictured at left) and Charles Lummis, who shares his dreams about the future of the area. The play's setting on hiking trails surrounded by mostly native plants also imparts the Arroyo's past.

Arroyoland also consists of Lewis Carroll-inspired characters (although in this case Humpty Dumpty sitting on his wall resembles Trump, and Bill the Lizard comes out as homosexual).

Doctor Maryse Narcisse, recent presidential candidate of Haiti's Famni Lavalas party, visited California for her first time in late April. Narcisse's involvement in Famni Lavalas goes back many years. Under President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's second term, she was General Director for the Ministry of Health. She also helped found the Aristide Foundation's medical and nursing school, UNIFA (University of the Aristide Foundation), which has expanded in recent years.

After the U.S.-backed coup against Aristide and Famni Lavalas in '04, Narcisse represented Aristide during his time in exile (and visited him in South Africa multiple times). She herself was also in exile for a time following the coup. Upon her return to Haiti in 2007, she survived a kidnapping at gunpoint.

She coordinated medical responses to the cholera outbreak introduced by U.N. troops, and the devastating earthquake of 2010, and Hurricane Matthew in 2016. As presidential candidate representing Fanmi Lavalas circa 2016, she enjoyed great popularity.